Late Round Fliers: Starting Pitchers: Three Intriguing Names To Consider

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

At the tail end of our drafts we are all looking for value, regardless of position or category. That said if you find yourself short on pitching, even in the deepest of formats, there could be options to be found in the last few rounds. Here are a trio of starting pitchers who bring significant upside and can be had for next to nothing (and therefore, even if they fail they are easy to move on from):

Kyle Gibson – Minnesota Twin (ADP – 452.8)
Gibson always seems to appear on our sleeper list, but he showed the potential to back it up in the second half of 2017:

8.22 K/9

2.58 BB/9

50.9% Groundball Rate

Solid control and groundball stuff have always been tbere, the key was a jump in his strikeout rate. There was a change in approach, as he began throwing his changeup and slider more frequently:

Pitch

April-June

July-Sept

Slider

15.12%

19.74%

Changeup

14.60%

16.49%

It may not seem like a significant change but his slider posted a 21.38% Whiff% and his changeup a 16.59% mark. It clearly helped, and with his other numbers the improvement will bring continued quality results.

Bryan Mitchell – San Diego Padres (ADP – 495.0)
While Miles Mikolas has been garnering most of the attention for those in dynasty leagues, Mitchell has fallen relatively under the radar. Why exactly? Is it because his struggles are fresh in our minds? Maybe because he had been viewed more as a relief pitcher as opposed to a starter?

The change in home ballpark alone should catch your attention, but now consider these numbers from Triple-A in 2017 (14 appearances, 13 starts)

63.2 IP

9.23 K/9

1.84 BB/9

55.4% Groundball Rate

Obviously we have to consider the competition, but that’s across the board production. His 10.2% SwStr% backs up the strikeouts and his 1.50 GO/SO shows his ability to generate ample groundballs. In other words there’s every reason to think that he thrives in his new surroundings. With a negligible price tag he is a no-brainer.

Dillon Peters – Miami Marlins (ADP – 541.6)
Control has always been his strongest asset, though he’s also done a good job generating groundballs (50.0% in the minors last season). The questions are:

Wins Potential

Strikeouts

Obviously pitching for the Marlins will likely mean few wins, but we try not to chase them anyways. There is also more upside in his strikeouts, after he posted an 11.6% SwStr% in the minors last season. If he’s striking out 8.0-8.5 K/9 then he should definitely have success. It’s a risk, but at no cost in the deepest of formats is there really a downside?

3 comments

I am in a dynasty league that can keep up to 15 players 40 man roster with a 400 cap. Would Brandon woodruff or brent suter both are a $1 cap hit they would be pushing out Doolittle ($7 cap hit) for my 15th spot… Would you consider them as a keeper at all… 12 team league. Thanks